We are in danger of making things too complicated. SeanC's original point is sound in relation to technical difficulty. There is a parallel issue with course length for the less-fit, which in the past would have been at least partially addressed by 'Short' classes.
There are already too many 'championships' (regional, area and British, with up to about 6 versions of each), so people regularly attending events in different associations can already find a significant chunk of fixtures has that label. Just make everything colour-coded, and give everyone freedom to enter whichever course they prefer - which was the idea of moving to colours in the first place! Then if necessary say "if you want to be considered for .... please enter course ...[for class ... ]" - which is often what 'age-class' events really mean, without stating it explicitly.
And it is quite disheartening for a novice / learner entering something other than their nominated age-class course to then find themselves in a separate category in only-age-class results: e.g.'Other - Orange', and sometimes on their own! So always produce results primarily by course, with any class alternatives being optional and supplementary. (Prior to e-punching, my club commonly added an extra column to course results, to show position within class - so making separate class results often unnecessary; I don't know why current software rarely offers this, it would be simple to do).
For the different question, of being competent at say a td4 Blue course and then being caught out by a td5 Blue course elsewhere, rather than introduce more 'Light' versions, why don't we just make it a registration requirement to show the maximum td of the area? (I know there isn't necessarily an exact correspondence between course td and area td, but they will usually match reasonably closely). Urban events would typically be td3, with terrain events at 3/4/5. People entering events on an unknown td5 area could then choose either a shorter or technically easier course if they thought they might struggle with their usual course.
And although there isn't currently an international td standard, there would be some merit in promoting one. Particularly for people who are not td-5-capable (often partners / family members, or those only competing in the south of England!) when entering overseas events.
Class based leagues - good or bad for younger runners?
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Re: Class based leagues - good or bad for younger runners?
I doubt there is an objective way to classify technical difficulty of terrains that everyone would agree with. Then who is going to do the classification? Is there going to be a BOF committee that will do that job? What if the organiser disagrees thinking that their terrain is classified as too difficult or too easy, discouraging entries? Also, just stating the TD is too little information to make a meaningful decision anyway. If you take a look at the current worldofo.com Course of the Year competition, the 50 or so non-urban courses are clearly all TD5, but the challenges are so different between the courses - just stating it's TD5 tells me very little about what to expect and whether I am ready for the challenges and will enjoy them.
On the other hand, why do so few clubs publish map snippets and/or links to previous maps in their preliminary info about the events? Who needs the TD information if they can just look at the map and decide if they are ready and (more importantly for more experienced orienteers) if they are going to enjoy the event, which any competent TD4 orienteer should be able to do?
On the other hand, why do so few clubs publish map snippets and/or links to previous maps in their preliminary info about the events? Who needs the TD information if they can just look at the map and decide if they are ready and (more importantly for more experienced orienteers) if they are going to enjoy the event, which any competent TD4 orienteer should be able to do?
- MChub
- off string
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Re: Class based leagues - good or bad for younger runners?
just stating it's TD5 tells me very little about what to expect and whether I am ready for the challenges and will enjoy them
If you have the skills required to complete a TD5 course:
* Navigate for long distances using only major contour features – hills, ridges, large re-entrants and spurs. (L)
* Read and interpret complex contours. (M)
* Concentration over long distances. (O)
* Recognition of indistinct features. (O)
* Use all the different skills and adapt speed and technique to changes in the terrain and orienteering difficulty.
then you are ready for the challenge.
However you are correct that it does not help to know whether you will enjoy it or not. Runnable intricate sand dunes are lovely; Rocky forested hillsides less so.
- SJC
- diehard
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Re: Class based leagues - good or bad for younger runners?
@SJC yes, but these are not binary, yes or no, skills, and different terrains and courses require them in different proportions.
I like sand dunes and dislike steep rocky hillsides, but forested ones are definitely better than open, because there are trees to grab on to when descending
I like sand dunes and dislike steep rocky hillsides, but forested ones are definitely better than open, because there are trees to grab on to when descending
- MChub
- off string
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- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2018 7:43 pm
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